Cloudy Water Question

[adletson]

Stats:
Northeast Alabama
20,000 gallon in ground pool
Brand new Pentair VS pump
Vinyl liner
Taylor test kit

We opened the pool and began the SLAM 5/9/2017. CYA was below 30 so we added CYA to bring it up to 40. We have been brushing and adding Aldi bleach to bring it up to shock level every four hours during waking hours (ie. not at night). We have now added over $100 of bleach to the pool with the pump running 24/7 and it is still cloudy to the point that you can't see the bottom of the shallow end. I've included pictures. Am I doing something wrong? I've done SLAMs in years prior and have never had any problem, but I've never had cloudy water like this to begin with either. When we opened the pool there was a lot of stuff in it and it was green but the water was clear. I can' confirm the bleach is raising the FC as we are testing it often and see the FC go up and then down as time progresses.

The first picture is from 5/9/2017 when we opened it and got the pump running. The second picture is 5/10/2017. The third picture is 5/17/2017 and there doesn't seem to be much improvement. Any help is much appreciated! This is getting expensive!

 

[atttech-2]

That actually looks pretty good and is on point form some of the SLAM threads I have seen. Have you been back washing regularly and have you ever done a deep clean of the sand? I suspect much of what you have now is just dead algae that needs to be filtered out. You have the algae on the ropes don't give up now.

 

[Richard320]

Are you using a sand filter? If so, then adding a little DE as mentioned near the end of the SLAM article should help. It would be the equivalent of laying window screen on top chicken wire, just on a microscopic scale. If you go that route, do it when you're going to be around to monitor pump pressure, because it can load up completely in a couple hours.

 

[adletson]

Thanks for the replies guys! I am using a sand filter and I at the moment do not have a pressure gauge on the filter... It is a Hayward Pro Series High Rate Sand Filter Model No. S244T. Could anyone recommend a pressure gauge to get?

Is it normal for it to look basically the same 7 days later, from the 5/10 picture to the 5/17 picture?

 

[Richard320]

Thanks for the replies guys! I am using a sand filter and I at the moment do not have a pressure gauge on the filter... It is a Hayward Pro Series High Rate Sand Filter Model No. S244T. Could anyone recommend a pressure gauge to get?

Tftestkits has some really good glycerin-filled gauges. If you need to order any kit refills or a speedstir, you can do it all at once.

Is it normal for it to look basically the same 7 days later, from the 5/10 picture to the 5/17 picture?

No. You should see incremental improvement every day. Your color is good so if the FC demand has slowed, that pretty much leaves filtration as the problem.

 

[Texas Splash]

Take a look at the gauges on THIS SITE. Great quality. After 7 days you would hope to see more clarity. But without a gauge to dictate backwash required pressure you were flying a bit blind. The gauge should help. Also curious .... you have alight right? Have you pulled it to look behind? Might be a good idea.

 

[adletson]

Thanks again guys! While I like the look of that gauge and I want to support, I'm concerned that it will take too long to get here. In your experience how fast is shipping?

I do not have a light and I can't really find anything that I haven't scrubbed or removed. This SLAM is getting pricey so I'm ready to be done...

The FC was 16 when I went to bed last night and it was 10.5 when we woke up this morning.

 

[Texas Splash]

There are gauges available locally, but most won't be glycerin-filled, so you won't have the best quality. You might find glycerin gauges at a place like Grainger or Northern Tools. Other than that, just regular gauges. Not the worst thing if you've in a hurry. If you call TFTestkits, they can tell you how quick their gauge would arrive if you order from them.

As for the SLAM itself, it's only been a week. Not bad considering that green. I'm amazed at the water change from pic 1 to pic 2 in just one day. Assuming no other products have been in the water other than stabilizer and bleach, it may just take more filtration as noted above. As a final thought, you could always run another CYA test. If by some chance your CYA test proved to be slightly higher than you thought at 40, then that could also explain slow progress as your FC would need to be slightly higher.

One last question for us all ..... when was the last time (if ever) the sand was deep cleaned? If the sand is new then it probably doesn't apply. But if you've had the sand for a few seasons it may be a factor.

 

[adletson]

The sand was replaced three seasons ago.

 

[Texas Splash]

3 seasons isn't too terribly long, but if you don't begin to see some improvement by the weekend, I'd consider opening it up and doing a deep clean just to be sure your sand in better shape to handle the filtration demands on this SLAM. While sand generally never goes bad, it can get compacted in some areas or develop channels that may reduce its effectiveness. Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

 

[camueller]

I bought my pressure gauge from tftestkits. It is indeed awesome quality and a fair price. However, it is a common brand (DuraChoice) gauge and might be able to find one at a plumbing supply store, or some place that sells plumbing besides the blue and orange box store. You just want to get one that has measurement ranges of 0 to 30psi as oppposed to one of the 100psi ones.

However, the shipment from tftestkits got to me in St Louis MO area 2 days after I ordered it.

 

[xyz]

Plus, why not support a TFP business that supports us?

 

[adletson]

Thanks for all the help guys! I got a cheap pressure gauge at Lowes to stand in for the moment and I'm ordering a more long term solution from TFTestkits.

After using the DE for 24 hours, the end is finally in sight! It is still not clear but we have seen improvement in the clarity for the first time in the process!

 

[Husky25]

Without a gauge, it may have been hard to tell when to backwash. DE in a sand filter tends to raise the pressure quickly if you put in too much, thereby rendering the application moot. Good to hear you are back to seeing positive results.